Slay Cliche
by CellCloneBot
Summary: An attempt of satire that uses the student and master cliche of martial arts movies. Shino is taught by Lao Tzu!


Slay Cliche  
Chapter One: The Old Master  
  
After the invasion of the hidden Leaf Village by the Sound and Sand ninjas, the village had to use its depleted resources to cover the jobs so they would not appear weakened to other countries. One father and son, of the Aburame clan, had a mission together, but the father had other plans for his son.   
  
The two hiked in the remote outskirts of their country, and Shino's father had not told his son anything. In the morning, he had awaken Shino by pouring cold water on him after dragging him outside under the low rising sun. He had told his son to get use to this type of treatment. They two had not spoken for the whole journey, and they continued on the path carrying their large backpacks. "Where are we heading?"  
  
"It is not like you to ask questions," his father replied. There was a silence afterwards as if he had neglected the question. Shino stopped his indulgence of knowledge by panning his attention to the wind that blew in the leafs and the birds that chirped. In Shino's mind, he thought his father was playing some trick on him to teach him a lesson, but there would always be a doubt in his mind until his father honourably declared defeat to Shino and victory to parenthood. This was the confidence his father instilled in him; one day Shino would be better than his father. This is the natural order of things. The silence was broken by his father: "Life is a mystery to be lived, not solved."  
  
Shino's eyebrows lowered and he spoke in his deep voice, "you quoted that from a box of liquor."  
  
"You'll find that all great ideas seem absurd at first." His father to his knowledge once again quoted from the same brand of liquor. Shino had always wondered why his father had carried over his back in his gourd. At first he had thought it was excess bugs, but more recently, he had thought it was the alcohol. His father then made a cryptic remark that when Shino was finished with this mission, that he too would be subject to the drink. "It's how we have survived."  
  
His father turned around to Shino and waved his hand to approach him. His breath smelled funny, but Shino complied and allowed his father to take his hands. A careful inspection was taken to observe the state of his fingernails; they were clean and cut as his father had always requested of him but never checked up to this moment. He turned without saying a word and continued on his way with no more concern of his son. The next time they stopped, they had come across a fork in the path where stairs climbed up the hill away from the path. He patted Shino's shoulders and moved his chin for Shino to climb up the stairs full of cracks and weeds. Shino started and looked back to his father and for the first time saw him lift his black sunglasses a bit to rub his eyes. Many thoughts entered Shino's mind: was he leaving him; had his father joined an evil force; had Shino saw his father for the last time. In an act of will, Shino turned his head from his father and remembered the promise made from his father that he would be better than him. The steps were long and he had to skip some that were lost with wear. From the top of the stairs, he looked down and his father was no longer there. There was only one thing Shino could do and that was to find out his purpose.   
  
There was a court with a large board to play GO in the middle with long sticks to pick up the pieces. Behind the board was an old man with long white hair mediating on top of a platform in no better condition than the stairs. On the side were two shelters with straw roofing. Shino took off his bag and bowed to the old man and approached him slowly to take in the surroundings and respond if the man had wished him not to proceed farther than he had. Using his judgement, he halted at the steps of the platform and bowed once again. Shino waited until being called to identify himself. The old man sat silently as the rain fell down.   
  
In the morning, their positions had not changed. The old man made the first move and walked up to Shino. He released a gob of spit on the back of Shino's hair and raised him up by his wooden cane that he hooked around Shino's neck. When he had Shino standing straight, he placed his wrinkled finger tips on Shino's chest. "You may try to move when my fingers leave your body."  
  
There was less than an instance where the old man clutched his fingers that touched Shino into a fist, and he punched him with the distance of two inches. Shino flew off his feet and glided ten feet. When Shino got up holding his chest, the old man tugged on his long white beard. "You are less than dirt. I would not grow excuses on you. Now, it is your turn."  
  
Shino walked up to the old man and placed his hand flat and his fingers against the old man's chest. When he returned in hand into a fist, the old man moved quickly and stopped the punch with his fingers. "Now, you mustn't move, as if it makes a difference."  
  
The old man formed his hand into a fist and pounded on Shino's fist. He twisted from the impact and tripped to the ground rubbing his hand. "It seems that you are slow like dead slug." He chuckled and retied the band around the pony hair of his remaing hair. He shook his index finger at Shino. "I shall grow my nails until you are given enough time to hit me back. When my fingernails grow to touch the grow without me bending, then you shall meet death."  
  
He adjusted the robe around his white robe. "You are humble. I do not care for you. You are patient. I do not wait for you, you should know." He told. "I'm Lao Tzu."  
  
Shino hearing these words bowed to the ground. Lao Tzu went to his mediation position and laughed from the soul. 


End file.
